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I just ran across your site and your podcast. I REALLY like what you are doing. I am an entrepreneur who has been involved in life sciences ventures (biotech, pharma, nutraceuticals) for the past 16 years. One of my biggest complaints in my area, is that the gatekeepers for those who are supposed to help entrepreneurs (state and local programs) are people who have never taken the leap of being an entrepreneur.

Alex Day

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Welcome to SL #27! Join us for a great repeat visit with Mitch Free, founder and CEO of MFG.com. A lot has been happening with MFG since Mitch was on over a year ago. MFG facilitated roughly $5B in transactions in the first five years of operation. Now, they’re cranking out $2B in transactions each month. INSANE! Mitch was recently announced as a finalist for Ernst and Young’s 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year. Besides chatting with us about MFG, Atlanta, and his angel investing activities, Mitch broke the news and gave us some insights into next big project. He also answers the questions we all want to know the answers to: is MFG staying in Atlanta? What Atlanta startups is he particularly excited about? Who picks up the tab when he lunches with his repeat investor Jeff Bezos?

The bus takes a break during this show, as Mike dishes out a little love in a “Look Who Gets It” segment. Some great listener emails and a sprinkling of StartupLounge humor round out another great show. Enjoy!

So how does a guy go from running up his credit cards and cashing in the 401K to growing through acquisition in Europe, expanding heavily into China and processing over $4.5B in transactions in just a few short years? Join us for a very intimate conversation with Mitch Free, the founder and CEO of MFG.com, one of the world’s largest online marketplaces within the manufacturing space.

As an added bonus, hear Mitch’s view on where the Atlanta early-stage venture market is, what it is like to work with Jeff Bezos and the Samwer brothers, and what is next for MFG.com. We also discuss the subject of several outside venture funds taking a closer look at the Atlanta market.Read the rest of this entry »